Men's Volleyball

MIT Falls to No. 5 Rivier, 3-0

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. &ndash; Nationally-ranked No. 5 Rivier College proved to be a formidable foe as it defeated host MIT, 30-20, 30-21, 30-21, in a non-conference men&rsquo;s volleyball match on Thursday. With the win, the Raiders improved to 12-1 on the season while the Engineers fell to 5-8 overall.

In the opening game, Rivier raced out to a 6-1 lead and maintained a comfortable cushion for most of the way. MIT slowly chipped away at the deficit coming within three on several occasions, the last at 19-16. The Raiders responded with an 11-4 run to close out the frame.

The early stages of the second stanza were closely played as a pair of kills from Matt Ferreira gave Rivier a 5-3 edge. A block by Garrett Winther and Scott Pollom cut the margin in half, but the Raiders regained their momentum and eventually held a 27-15 advantage. Sparked by a kill from Pollom, MIT tallied six of the next seven points to come within seven (28-21). Rivier ended the hosts&rsquo; late rally on a kill by Ferreira and then wrapped up the set with an ace.

The Raiders jumped out to a 9-2 advantage in the third game; however, the Engineers battled back and narrowed the gap to 11-8. Rivier picked up five of the next seven points, keeping the Cardinal and Gray at bay. MIT continued to attack, whittling the margin down to four several times, the last at 23-19. The Raiders responded with a 7-2 spurt to seal the match.

Malcolm Bean paced the Engineers with 11 kills as Pollom notched six blocks and five kills. Eric Reuland totaled six kills, four blocks, and two aces while Michael Demyttenaere posted five kills. Jeremy Velazquez and Eugene Jang each collected nine digs as Velazquez added two aces. Tim Lee and Philip Rogoz shared setting duties, finishing with 13 and 12 assists, respectively. Lee also contributed two aces towards the Cardinal and Gray&rsquo;s cause.